Combination workbench and tool holder



Oct. 23, 1928. 1,688,533

G. EGER COMBINATION WORK BENCH AND TOOL HOLDER Filed Oct. 29, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 23, 1928.

G. EGER CQMBINATION WORK BENCH AND TOOL HOLDER Filed Oct. 29, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 iatented Get. 23, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE EGER, OE NIEFW" BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT; ASSIGNOR TO THE STANLEY WORKS, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

COMBINATION WORKBENCH AND TOOL HOLDER.

Application filed October 29, 1926'. Serial No. 145,079..

tion is toprovide a combined work bench and tool chest which: may be folded up in a compact space; so as. to facllitate packing and handling, to-eifect. economy in shlpment, and

tosave space in the work shop when thebench.

is not in use.

A further aim-of theinventio'n is to provide a structure of this sort with a readily accessible and conveniently placed tool box or chest having a lid or cover which also 18 adapted to serve as a work top or bed.

Other objects of the invention areto provide a combined workbench and tool holder which is rugged and durable in. construction, which is convenient in use, and whereln certain parts perform several functions.v

Other objects will be in part. obvious and in part pointed out more in deta1l hereinaften.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement ofparts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown oneof the many embodiments which the present invention may take;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of my improved work bench and tool holder;

Fig. 2; is an end? view thereof 3 is a: view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the structure in folded condition:

Fig.4: is a horizontal sectional view through the tool chest, this view'beingtaken substan tially on line l -4 of Fig; 3; and

Fig. 5 is; a detail view showing, in section, the connection between the shelf and one of the front legs, thisview being taken substantially on line 55 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, thebench has a front section or frame which includes a pair of legs 10, 10 held in spaced apart relation by an apron or brace 11; and a back section or frame comprising a. pair of legs.

uprightsor legs 12, 12- held in spaced apart 1 relation at their upper ends by a tool chest 14 and adjacent their lower ends by a subpanel or shelf 15. The shelf is pivoted on cars 16 extending forwardly from the rear The numeral 17 designates the top or working surface of the bench. This topalso constitutes a cover or lid for the tool chest as well'as a'brace for tying together the front; and rear sections of the bench. The combined' top and lid 17 is provided at each end with a groove 18 in which is secured, by meansof screws', a strip 19. These strips are PlVQtQCl, at their rear ends, to ears 20 on the rear uprights and, in addition to providing hinges for the top, also serve to prevent the top from warping. I

Eachlof the strips 19 is provided, adjacent its forward end, with a lug: or stud 21 which, when the lid is lowered to serve as a work bench top, engages in. a bifurcation or seat 22 in the upper ends of. the legs 10. The sub panel or'shel'f 15 is-provided with end strips 24 which are pivotally connected to ears 16.. Each strip24e, in; the present illustrative disclosure, is provided,adjacent its forward end, with a hook 26, and these hooks, when the structure is in open condition, receive lugs 27 which are riveted to the front. legs 10,. as shown most clearly in Fig; 5.

The legs or uprights 10 and 12 are preferably constructed of angle iron.. The upper ends of thefront legs 10 are longitudinally slit, and the upper ends of the front webs of these legs are bent inwardly so as to provide rests 28 for the top 17. The tool chest or holder 14 is secured to the upwardlyprojectingends of the rear uprights 12 by: means of screws or bolts 29; Preferably, the vertical forward corners of the chest engage in the rearwardly facing angles of the uprights 12. This chestmay be divided up into compartments and may have suitable racksor receptacles for receiving the tools.

The front frame of the bench, which oomprises the legs 10 and the apron 11, is pivotally' secured to the back frame, which comprises the legs 12 and the chest 14:, by a pair of links 30 at each end of the structure, thus permitting the front portion to be folded up against the back portion, as most clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The links of each pair are in parallelism with each other so that the legs Will always be in parallelism irrespective of the relative angular position of the various parts. These links are longer than the width of the shelf 15 and the top 17 so as to constitute braces which cooperate with the top and shelf to hold the structure steady and against collapsing. The top 17 may be secured in its lid serving posltion by the usual hasp 31 and staple 32, as shown in Fig. 3. The structure is held in the folded up condition shown in Fig. 3 by hooks 33 pivoted to the front frame and adapted to hook over studs or lugs 34; on the rear frame.

When it is desired to ship the structure, it is folded up to the condition shown in Fig.

' 3 and, in this condition, it occupies less space and may be more readily crated. It is held in this condition by the hooks 33. Also, after the apparatus has been installed in the work shop, garage, or the like, it may, if desired, be folded up so as to save space when it is not in use. When it is desired to open the structure so as to use it as a work bench, the hooks are released and the front frame is swung down to the position shown in Fig. 2. The shelf is brought to a horizontal position with the. hooks 26 engaging the studs 27 and the lid is thrown down into horizontal position in which the studs 21 engage in the seats 22 provided in the upper ends of the legs 10. It will be observed that, when the structure is in open condition, the shelf 15 ties together all of the legs so that they cannot spring apart in any direction. It will be observed from Fig. 5 that the studs 27 have heads 27 behind which the hooks 26 engage so as to tie the front legs together. Also, the studs 21 have heads behind which the upper ends of the legs 10 are adapted to engage. Owing to the links 30 and the top and shelf, the two frames of the bench are rigidly held together so that the work bench is rugged and steady. When the structure is in the condition shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the tools are very convenient for use. When it is desired to lock up the tools, they may be placed within the chest, the lid may be thrown up so as to close the chest, and the lid, if desired, may be locked in this position.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a combination work bench and tool holder, a front frame, a rear frame, means for connecting said frames and arranged to permit the front frame to be folded against the rear one, a tool chest on the rear frame hav; ing a pivoted lid movable to horizontal position to constitute a work bench top, and a shelf pivotally carried by; the rear frame and movable to horizontal position, said top and said shelf having means adapted to interlock with said front frame to hold said frames in proper spaced relation.

2. In a combination work bench and tool holder, a front frame including a pair of uprights and a cross brace; a rear frame including a pair of uprights extending above said front frame, and a tool chest supported on the upper ends ofsaid uprights; and a pivoted lid for said tool chest movable into engagement with said front frame to constitute a work bench top said uprights of the first pair having seats in their upper ends and said lid having lugs adapted to engage in said seats whereby said frames are tied together.

3. In a combination work bench and 'tool holder, a front frame, a rear frame, a tool chest supported on said rear frame and having a pivoted lid, a shelf pivotedon said rear frame and movable to horizontal position, links at the end of each of said frames for swingingly connecting the same together,

means for locking said lid to said front frame, 211d means for lockingsaid shelf to said front rame.

4. In a combination work bench and tool holder, a front frame comprising a cross brace and a pair of legs each having a seat at its upper end, and a stud spaced from its lower end; a back frame having an upright tool chest provided with a pivoted'lid, a stud at each forward corner of said lid for engagement in said seats, a shelf pivoted to said back frame and provided with hooks at its forward corners engageable with said first mentioned studs, and a plurality of links at each end of said frames for swingingly connecting the same together.

5. In a combination work bench and tool holder, a front'frame including a brace and a pair of uprights, a back frame including a pair of uprights and a tool chest supported thereon, said chest having a pivoted lid adapt ed to be moved into horizontal positionto constitute a work bench top, links at each end of said frames for connecting the same together and permit the front frame to be folded against the rear frame, and a shelf pivotally' connected to said rear frame and adapted to be detachably connected to said front frame.

6. In a combination Work bench and tool holder, a front frame including. a braceand a pair of uprights, a back frame including a pair of uprights and a tool chest supported thereon, said chest having a pivoted lid adapted to he moved into horizontal position to constitute a Work bench top, links at each end of said frames for connecting the same together and permit the front frame to be folded against the rear frame, and a shelf pivotally connected to said rear frame and adapted to be detachably connected to said front frame, said links being longer than the Width of said lid and shelf, and means being provided to hold said bench in folded c0ndition.

GEORGE EGER. 

